Yesterday, by a vote of 69 to 27, the Senate passed the Marketplace Fairness Act, requiring "remote" retailers with out-of-state sales of at least $1 million to collect applicable state and local sales tax on all purchases. The bill now goes to the House of Representatives, where it faces stronger opposition than in the Senate.
"This victory is the direct result of the tireless work of thousands of booksellers nationwide, who, year after year, have advocated for sales tax fairness," ABA CEO Oren Teicher commented. "Recognizing that this fight is far from over, today we are one very important step closer to leveling the playing field for Main Street retailers."
Teicher thanked the bill's sponsors, a bipartisan group including Senators Lamar Alexander (R.-Tenn.), Richard Durbin (D.-Ill.), Michael Enzi (R.-Wyo.) and Heidi Heitkamp (D.-N.Dak.), as well as regional booksellers associations in who worked helping to pass sales tax fairness legislation at the state level over the past several years. "These efforts absolutely helped keep the pressure on Congress to take the action that it did," he said. "Their leadership has been critical."
Bill Hughes, senior v-p for government affairs at the Retail Industry Leaders Association, commented: "The Senate's overwhelmingly bipartisan passage of this legislation foreshadows the end of the special treatment of big online businesses at the expense of retailers on Main Street. After such a resounding vote in the Senate, we look forward to a constructive debate in the House to level the playing field for all retailers this year."
President Obama has indicated that he will sign the Marketplace Fairness Act if it passes the House. But some conservatives and online retailers--with the notable exception of Amazon, which supports the bill--are expected to put up a major fight against it in the House.